Removal of bins compounded problem

To the editor:

One of the primary causes of the current recycling issue in Scarborough is the fact that Hannaford’s flagship store on Hannaford Drive told the town to remove four recycling bins that were behind the store just beyond the Clynk building.

That decision, taken just prior to the holiday season, forced recyclers accustomed to dropping off recyclables when they did their shopping, to overburden other bins, especially those at the Maine Veterans’ Home.

I understand why Hannaford executives had the town remove the bins: The usual suspects were abusing a convenience provided by both the town and Hannaford by leaving everything from furniture, electronics and appliances to garbage at the site. Unfortunately, removing the bins from Hannaford simply compounded the problem by moving it to the Maine Veterans’ Home where it now continues multiplied by two.

A great many of us who try to recycle, but don’t have town trash pickup, which includes the entire Hillcrest Retirement Community and many, if not all, of the apartment complexes in the city of Scarborough, have found it most convenient to do so on a routine trip to Hannaford for groceries.

We have sorely missed that convenience and so far public works has been unable to satisfactorily rectify the situation.

The new site near On the Vine in the Dunstan area will not solve the problem for those of us who live north of the marsh due simply to distance.

Creating the added carbon monoxide pollution that results from driving an extra 8 to 10 miles to recycle rather defeats the purpose of recycling for a single household.